The Lost Sisters
by SweetMoonPrincess
Summary: 25 years ago, Thranduil's two daughters mysteriously dissapeared without a trace.. Making them believe in their deaths' Slowly Thranduil's family is falling apart, but what happens when they find out they are not really dead?... Bad summary, I know.. I'm really not good at these things... ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I wish I did, but I do not own anything JRR Tolkien's brilliant mind came up with.. :( Tolkien does...

I do however own Kata and Callie :) yeeeej!

**Chapter one – Escape...**

'Come on sweetie.. hold on! We'll be just fine again.. just hold on!'' She said to her sister with more persuasion than she actually felt.

Callie was hardly conscious. She had a severe headwound, which made her sister unable to walk without the help of Kata. Not that she was walking really.. Kata was more pulling her along. Kata would have preferred to tend to her sisters wounds and let her rest, let alone her own wounds, but she wanted to get the hell away from the cabine. She wanted to get miles away from the place where all the torture had happened. Besides, the adrenaline was pumping through her veins supressing all her pain. She thought that if she would stop to rest, she wouldn't be able to start walking again.

Her own wounds didn't look so well either.. She had, just like Callie, a nasty head wound, which was glued together with her own dry blood by now. She suspected her right shoulder blade to be broken and she was sure her shoulder was dislocated. Her arm was hanging suspiciously unnatural by her side and she could hardly move it because of the huge swelling that was now clearly visible..

Her ribs were burning and every step she made felt like she was stabbed with a knife.. she didn't want to succumb to the pain, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.. Black spots were creeping into her vision.. She wasn't a healer, but she knew darn well that this wasn't a good sign..

Kata had spent endlessly much time in the woods, but she didn't recognise these as the woods just outside their village..

'Where are we for gods sake.. This cán not be the woods of..'' These trees look a lot like the trees back home..' she thought.. 'No! Stop!.. don't do this.. don't go there!..'' She stopped her string of thoughts.. 'Don't do this to yourself.. It's the last you need right now..''

Eighteen years ago she had decided to stop torturing herself with the thought and the hope of ever being able to go home again.. the thought of never being able to see and hold her family, parents, brothers and her friends in her arms again and being forced to live in a world where she didn't feel at home and were she didn't belong made her sick, angry, sad and scared all at the same time..

She was a child herself, how on arda was she ever going to raise her little sister?!..

'The people in this world have no clue of who and what we are.. I don't want to have to hide who I am all the time.. I just wanna go home..' she murmured to herself..

'How would they fare?.. Would they just have continued their lives? Are they looking for us?' The questions that had been haunting her since they were send to this world. She would wake up asking these questions and she would go to sleep with them running through her head.

To feel the warm embrace from nana and ada again.. the over anxiety of naneth showing in her hovering and the over anxiety of adar showing in him preaching and his rules..

How she hated it back then.. now she missed it more than anything in the world..

And her brothers.. She had always been real close to her brothers, especially Legolas..

'Legolas.. did you look for me..?'..

The tears were running freely down her cheeks by now.. She was pulled out of her string of thoughts when Callie started moaning..

'What?.. What's .. Callie.. Callie! Callie! Look at me!'' Kata cries, trying to get her sister to look at her, but Callie had already closed her eyes, her head was now hanging down.

Kata tried desperately to keep her sister up and moving but when Callie's legs succumbed, she nearly pulled Kata with her. Kata carefully let her little sister lie down.. knowing she had lost the fight..

Her own legs were now protesting heavily as the pain started to come back to her and threatened to succumb as well.. She leaned against a tree and tried to keep her knees from buckling under her weight..

The adrenaline was now wearing off and the pain was now practically screaming at her to give up..

Her wounds were starting to claim their price and the world started spinning.. Her vision was filled with black spots.. She could hardly breathe anymore, her shoulder felt like it was on fire and her head felt like it was about to explode..

She realised her legs had succumbed and she had collapsed against the tree.. but it all felt so far away, every sound, the trees, the birds.. Everything sounded as if it was kept miles away from her.. and she stared off into the woods as the blackness slowly took her..

**To be continued...**

So what do you think? Should I continue? :)

Pleaaase review!

but don't be too hard on me.. this is my first story ever written..

and I'm sorry for the grammar mistakes... english isn't my mother language.. :) I trying to get better at it thoug ;)

revieww! :D:D:D:D


	2. Chapter 2 - Home?

******I'm back! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for Kata and Callie :)**

**Chapter 2 – Home..?**

Kata woke up feeling herself lying on something soft.. It felt like a bed..

''Has it all been a nightmare?!'' she thought hazily, but when she tried to move the burning pain in her head, shoulder and ribs told her otherwise..

She tried to open her eyes.. expecting to see nothing when she opened her eyes, just the dark, cold, little cel she had been held in for the last few months..

She was surprised but also startled to see soft candle light when she opened her eyes.  
Her eyelids felt very heavy and the lack of light made it hard for her to see where she was.

She glanced at her right shoulder and saw that the swelling, that was clearly visible before, was now almost completely gone. It was obviously tended to and wrapped in bandages.

Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dark and she found it easier to distinguish the various objects around the room.

When she took in her surroundings she saw intricate engravings on the ceiling. Engravings that stretched across the entire ceiling and continued down the walls and entangled down the immense doors making it look like the room was embracing the ones in it.

The room had the colors green and brown, contributing in the feeing of being outdoors. The detailed engravings made her feel like she was in a forest. The detailed engravings rising from the ground looked like huge blossom trees.

Kata's heart started beating like crazy and the adrenaline raced through her body.

'This can't be.. she whispered.. She recognized the ornaments and the engravings as those from the home she grew up in.

'Could it be?..' she thought.. almost not believing it could ever be true..

She looked around the room once again.. About six feet from her bed was another bed. It was empty but it looked slept in..

In a corner stood a small table with bowls with herbs in it and bottles with healing potions in it she guessed.

She saw that the room had two openings. On one side of the room, diagonally opposite her bed was a single door and on the left side of her bed were the huge double doors. Kata guessed that this was the main entrance of the room.

Next to the bed stood a glass of water and a small bowl of porridge and it looked untouched.

Suddenly an abundance of thoughts flooded through her mind..

'Where am I?!'

'How long have I been here?!'

'Are we finally home again?!..'

'And where is callie?!'

'Where is my little sister?!'

Panick struck her and she needed to take a few steady breaths to calm herself down again

'Calm down.. your wounds are tended to, so Callie's must have as well.. She fine..' she tried to persuade herself.

She wanted answers and she knew the only way to get them is to look for them. So she had decided to go investigate.

Her body was aching badly and she had the greatest difficulty climbing out of the bed and onto her feet. The world was swirling for a while and she had to steady herself by grabbing the bedside table for support.

She rather would have collapsed on the bed again but she just hád to know where she was and where Callie was.

She chose to go for the 'main entrance' doors en cautiously walked towards them..

An incredulous feeling crept over her.

She didn't know what she was going to find behind these doors and this made her slightly afraid to open them as well. She was praying to the valar with all her heart that behind these two doors she would find vibrant halls filled with elves busy with anything and everything..

With a trembling hand she reached for the door knob. She grabbed it but before she opened it she took a few steady breaths first. In her head she counted/was counting..

.

1..2..3! She pulled the door open. Her heart sank when she was met by silence.. but when she looked better she did recognize a long great hall lighted by torches on the walls.

She recognized it.. she took a step forward but was abruptly pulled back when she heard the other door behind her open. She heard a yelp and in an instant she was turned around and found her sister hiding behind her using her as a shield.

Kata looked bewildered around her, not understanding what was going on..

'Callie!?' 'Are you okay?!' Kata exclaimed turning around swiftly..

but Callie wasn't looking at her.. she was still looking at the door she had just came through..

She looked scared out of her wits looking at the opening where now a small group of people had gathered

Kata slowly followed her sisters gaze, she had her eyes cast downward out of fear for what she would find.. or rather.. what she would nót find..

Her eyes met were the ends of richly colored robes.. she slowly casted her eyes up.. her heart made almost stopped beating.. before her stood the elves she never thougth she'd ever see again.

She couldn't believe it. She stood nailed to the ground, her eyes wide open and her mouth had dropped open in shock.. she couldn't find the words her mouth wanted to speak..

The elves in front of her had the exact same expression on their faces..

They stood there for awhile.. staring at eachother aghast before Kata heard Callie whimper softly, almost inaudible

'K..k..kata..' she whimpered.. 'Who are they?!..' fear clearly in her voice..

Kata still found herself unable to say anything.. It took her another few moments before she managed to find her voice back..

'A.. ada?!' she whispered.. feeling tears well up in her eyes.

'Katiél..' he whispered back, looking just as flabbergasted as she was.

whithout further thinking about it.. Kata shot forward and threw herself into her fathers arms..

leaving a, now just as flabbergasted Callie standing there in shock..

I knooow.. it wasn't that good.. my inspiration had left me.. :(

Please review.. but don't flame please..

:)


	3. Chapter 3 - Reunion

_Heeeya I'm back! I know i've been away for way too long and left you guys waiting.. I'm sorry! I've written and re-written this chapter for what feels like a thousand times.. and just wasn't satisfied with it.. So I really hope you guys like it! I've worked on this for a very long time.. the chapter is also a lot longer than the first two.. so that also explains a bit why it took so long.. ;P  
I also want to say that I will never abandon a story.. It always drives me crazy when a story is left unfinished so I will promise you now.. I won't do that! :D isn't that nice to know? ;)  
Also, thanks so much for the reviews! :D As I said this chapter is a lot longer than the first two.. I also found it to be a real challenge so I really hope you guys like it! :D  
_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for Kata, Callie, Marellia and Maethren**_

* * *

__

When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

― Author Unknown

Reunion

Thranduil held her tightly and closed his eyes. How he had dreamed for this to happen, he never actually thought he would ever be able to hold his daughter in his arms again.

The small family didn't notice the healers that had followed Thranduil were now silently, but swiftly leaving the room again, giving them some privacy.. Kata forgot about everything around her, even her sister who was still staring at them and looked like the ground had vanished underneath her. Kata couldn't stop her tears so for the first time in many years she just let them flow.. She felt as if she were dreaming, she was scared to death to let go of her father, fearing it might all be a dream..

After a few minutes, what felt like an eternity to Callie, Kata heard Callies' voice invade her perfect bubble..

'Kat?..' Kata reluctantly let go of Thranduil. When she looked Thranduil in the eye she saw that he as well had tears in his eyes 'Ada..' was all she could manage to say.. she couldn't find any words, hell, she could hardly believe this was really happening.

'Thank the Valar for bringing my girls back to me' I thought I'd never see you again..',, 'Iel-_nîn_..' he whispered lovingly..

'Kata?!..' Callie hissed fiercely, but she couldn't keep her voice from trembling a bit. Her patience had run out.. Thranduil's eyes wandered over Kata's shoulder over to where Callie, his youngest daughter stood, the one who was only a toddler when she disappeared. She now looked like an eleven year old in human years.

'Caliél'.. He spoke and he stepped around Kata towards Callie..

Callie cautiously took a few steps back..

'I didn't mean to scare you.. You do not have to be afraid..'

'Are you...?.' Callie whispered.. her trembling voice betrayed her fear.

Thranduil cautiously took another step forward as he reached an arm out to her 'I am your father Caliél'

Callies eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something but she was lost for words.  
Clearly not knowing what to do she looked at her big sister for support.. Callie saw tears streaming over her sister's face..

Kata nodded encouragingly.

'It's okay Callie, it is really okay now..' she whispered smiling radiantly through her tears of happiness.

Callie took a cautious step towards Thranduil.

'Your my ada?..' Callie repeated softly..

'Yes, I am your ada Caliél'

Without further thinking Callie threw herself into Tranduils arms. She caught him off guard for a second but he quickly regained his senses and threw his arms around her and held her tightly

Kata, who was watching the touching reunion was suddenly also captured by her father in a big hug, in which he embraced both daughters.

They stood there for a few minutes, none of them willing to let go, both girls sobbing against his chest and Thranduil trying his best to keep his tears in.

After a while Kata asked 'How did we get here ada? How long have we been here? I mean, we were both hurt really bad.. who found us.. does nana.. does she know?'

A horrific thought came (back) to mind and she whispered horrified 'Where's Nana.. ada.. is she.. she's not.. is she? Ada where is she?!..'

'Calm down.. Calm down Thranduil admonished playfully 'Nana is on her way back to Mirkwood, do not worry thithen pen. She does not yet know, it thought it was best to let her come here and see for herself instead of writing of your return in a letter'.

She rested her head against Thranduil's shoulder as relief flooded over her. Her naneth was alive, and she was on her way.. that thought calmed her and made her able to relax again.. at least for a minute because another terrifying thought quickly followed the first.

'And my Maethren and Legolas?! Are they alright?!' She looked up at her father with the same panicked look on her face again..

Thranduil lovingly placed a hand against her cheek.  
'I have sent your brothers to accompany your mother. They are riding as fast as they can..'

'As for your other question.. You were found about five days ago. You were both severely hurt when you were brought back here. How are you feeling now, my daughters?'

Kata smiled.. and for the first time in many years she smiled a genuine smile.. My head is throbbing a little bit, my shoulder is aching, but I feel better than I have in years ada!'

Seeing Kata smile she smile she used to have on her face when she was an elfling, gave Thranduil the hope that his family could become whole once again..

Callie could still only stare at him. For years Kata had told her stories about their origin and their family and had tought her the ways of the elves for as far as her own knowledge reached..

But still, all Callie could do was fantasize about them, about how they would look and what they would be like.. and now here she was, she was being hugged by her father and the rest of her family would soon be there too..

She could hardly believe it was really happening and a part of her expected to awake from a dream soon.

'Thranduil sighed and lowered his eyes. It looked as if he had trouble voicing his thoughts..

'My daughters, What happened to you? How did you come to be so badly hurt?'

At this both girls looked at eacht other startled.

'Who hurt you so bad?' Thranduil asked.

Thranduil did not mean to bring bad memories back up, not when he had just found them and all he really wanted was to hold them and never let go, but the state his daughters were in when they were found broke his heart and awoke in him an rage he had not felt for hundreds of years..

He had to know.. He would find out who had dared to hurt his daughters and he would make them wish they had never been born.. they would pay!.

'It is a very long story, ada.. I .. I wouldn't know where to start.. I don't even know how, what happened, is even possible'

Thranduil gave her a reassuring smile

'Please.. try'

Thranduil kissed their head before reluctantly Thranduil letting go of his them. He walked to the door they had just come through and whispered something to the elves who were there waiting for their king.

Thranduil closed the door again and walked back to Kata and Callie

'Come' Thranduil whispered and he put his arms around their shoulders, turning them around and guiding them both back to one of the beds.

Thranduil sat down on the bed and Callie and Kata sat down on either side of him. Thranduil made sure they were comfortable and their injuries were not troubling them too much before pulling them close to him again.

To Kata's surprise Callie settled herself close to Thranduil and placed her head on his shoulder while clenching his robes in her fists. Callie had always had trouble trusting others. Seeing her so comfortable with someone she technically doesn't really know really surprised Kata.  
Though she had to admit to herself as well, sitting her next to her father again made Kata immediately feel safe.. a feeling she hadn't felt in 28 years,

Kata wasn't planning on telling her father what had caused their injuries, but she didn't see any harm in telling how they had survived away from their family and how their life had been all those years.

So Kata started telling about how they dissapeared 25 years ago and how their lives had been from then on.

´We could not find our way home. We kept on walking until we stumbled upon a small human village.. That is when I really panicked because I did not know of a human village besides Lake Town, anywhere close to home. It had been pouring and we were soaked and exhausted when we found the village. A human woman took pity on us and she took us into her home.. She offered us food and shelter. She immediately noticed our ears being pointed and realised we were different from them. She asked us who we were and were we came from. I told her about Mirkwood and about the elves and she looked at me like I was crazy ada.. She had never heard of elves before and she said she didn´t think they existed. But she did realise we were different so she said she would ask around if anyone had ever heard of a folk called elves'.

The next day she asked some townspeople if they had ever heard of elves but they all said the same: 'I've never heard of Elves, they do not exist'

'When she told us what the other villagers had said my world crashed and I ran..

I ran into the woods desperately trying to find sómething I recognised, ánything.. I was so desperate I even wished I'd stumble upon a spider or an orc pack.. just something that told me that home was not thát far away and we were not really lost..'

Kata swallowed thickly as a lump was forming in her throat as the memories and the emotions she felt came flooding back up.

She took a deep breath and resumed her story.

'But night quickly came and I didn't recognise anything.. so I returned to the woman's cottage where she waited for me to return with again food and shelter..

That night I dreamt of a different world.. a world in which no Elves, Dwarfs or Hobbits existed. It was a world of only men.. At that time I did not know that thát dream was my reality now..

I realised I would not be able to find the path back to home alone and not with Callie being so little. She could not yet understand what was exactly happening but I could feeling her fear and her distress..  
We felt the same.. home was far, far away and something told us we would not return anytime soon..'

'The woman who had offered us shelter took us into her home permanently and helped raise Callie. Her name was Marrellia. I told her about the elves and our world.. she was amazed at the stories about orcs and spiders, but also when I told her about Hobbits and Dwarves.  
She was really good to us and helped us to keep our identity hidden. The villagers didn't know what we were, not even after she asked specifically if anyone knew anything about a race called Elves. They just thought she was crazy. She feared that if they knew what we were they would hunt us down and hurt us'.

'Those humans did not trust anything or anyone that was different. They did not believe in the Valar or Elbereth ada. They believed in a someone they called God. This God lived in 'Heaven'. They also believed God to have made an angel, but this angel turned evil. They called him the devil and he was said to live in 'Hell' where everything always burned. They believed the devil had witches on earth working with him and spreading disease and create chaos'.

Kata paused for a second to see how Callie was doing. Kata knew Callie had a lot of bad memories and had seen more than Kata would have wished her to..

'I remember one year the harvest being spoiled.. they accused a young woman of being a witch and spoiling the harvest because the devil had ordered her so.. The evidence they had against her was that somebody had seen her picking herbs near the crops.. that was áll they had against her.. a distorted chuckle escaped her lips.. It was ridiculous.. they just wanted somebody to blame.

Sómeone had spoiled the crops, it had nóthing to do with the bug plague or with the worst drought since many years' she scoffed sarcastically..

Kata paused when a sickening memory came to mind..

'What happened to the woman?'thranduil asked

'She was first forced to confess and then.. then she was burned at the stake' Kata closed her eyes as the horrid image was etched into her memory.

She felt Thranduils grip on her tighten as if reassuring her that she was safe now.. nothing could harm her anymore..

'Anyway' Kata continued 'We stayed with Marrellia for fifteen years' She was like a mother to us. She did not have any children of her own as her husband died before she could conceive and she never remarried. She died of old age eventually'.

'The cottage we lived in lay on the outskirts of the village and we were relatively isolated from the outside world. We stayed there for the first couple of months after her passing but the villagers got suspicious of us, because we had not changed as much as humans would in fifteen years'.

'We fled the village the first night after I had picked up on the rumors. They thought we were send by the devil to spy on them, they believed the devil kept us young and gave us unnatural long life or something like that..'

'We traveled from village to village, always keeping a low profile, always hiding who we really were, never staying anywhere longer than a day or two..'

'I kept trying to find a way back home. There have been many times where I started losing hope of ever returning here and it was hard to hold on and believe there was a way. The thing that kept me going was knowing that you would never give up and wouldn't want me to give up eiter, so I focused on surviving day by day and doing.. doing what you would expect me to.. hold on..'

When Kata looked up at Thranduil she found herself staring right into stormy oceanblue eyes filled with emotion.

Thranduil held Kata thight against him and laid his head down on his head as if giving her a hug.

'I am very proud of you iel-nîn!' he whispered in her ear

'Hannon le, ada..' she whispered back, she couldn't keep her voice from trembling while a few tears escaped her eyes.

When Thranduil released his grip Kata swallowed hard and took a deep breath before leaning forward to look at Callie. She saw her fast asleep leaning against Thranduil's shoulder.

'She's exhausted' Thranduil whispered,

A small smile crept onto her face.. 'I haven't seen her asleep this peaceful in a very long time' Kata whispered back

Seeing her little sister finally reunited with the world she was born in, but never had the chance to get to know, lifted some of the weight she felt pressing on her heart.

Kata sighed and leaned her head back against the headboard of the bed before closing her eyes and leaning her head against Thranduils shoulder again.

'It was so hard ada.. raising Callie like that.. I tried my best teaching her our ways, our culture, our believes, legacies and language.. but how can you teach something so real to you but so different and unreal from the world she grew up in.. I was the only other elf she had ever seen and known.. She only knew Mirkwood through my stories, she only knows you and nana from the stories I have told her..

I remembered everything so clearly but to her it was only something she could fantasize about.

And I didn't even know everything about our ways and our believes and everything.. I mean, I was just an elfling myself at the time..'

Kata sighed. 'She had so many questions I could not answer. With everything I told her I created even more questions and more mysteries to her..'

'But I did not know what else to do. I could not hold the thruth to our past a secret from her.. And I guess I needed someone to talk to, someone I could share with everything the humans could never know.. and I guess I could not bear the thought of being alone… and that was what it felt like to me.. not speaking of Mirkwood and you and nana and of Maethren and Legolas..'

'You are not alone anymore iel-nîn, nor will you ever be again' Thranduil whispered in her ear before gently laying a kiss on her head.

'Ada?.. What happened here while we were gone? How did you live?'

Thranduil took a deep breath before answering..

'Honestly?' Thranduil answered sadly.. 'We did not really live..'

'Your dissapearance left a huge gap in our hearts.. We send search parties out to look for you.. Your brothers and I scoured Mirkwood and the lands surrounding Mirkwood. At one point I had to return here to take my responsibilities as the king, but we never stopped searching.. never..' The only thing that kept this family from falling apart completely was the hope of finding you again, it was the only thing that kept us from fading.'

'Your mother could not bear staying in Mirkwood as everything reminded her of her beloved daughters.. she nearly faded iel-nîn..'

'She would have, had she not left for Lothlorien to her family there..' Thranduil said sadly

'She left Mirkwood?.. but how long has she been gone ada? How long have you not seen her?' Kata asked slightly shocked at hearing her fathers words.

'She left 23 years ago..' In Lothlorien her hope for her daughters' return was restored..

Your brothers.. they hardly speak anymore unless it is about something concerning the safety of Mirkwood.. they have not said it, but I can see they are struggling to keep hope and stay strong..

Kata let her fathers words sink in for a while before she asked her next question.

'Do you think grandmother has foreseen it?' Kata looked up to Thranduil

'Foreseen what?' Thranduil asked

'Foreseen our return.. and perhaps also.. our dissapearance..'

'I do not know if she knew about your dissapearance but I have always suspected that she somehow knew you would return one day.. and that has given me strength to go on' he answered.

Kata settled herself against Thranduil again 'I just can't wait till nana and Maethren and Legolas are here.. she sighed.. I've missed you all so much!'

' We have missed you too. Everything will be okay again, we will be a family again' he whispered.

'I still almost cannot believe this, I feel like this is a dream and I am about to wake up any second.. I dreamt about this for 25 years.. I don't want to wake up ada, I don't want this to be a dream' she whispered

'This is real iel-nin' Thranduil kissed the top of her head 'This is real, and I will never let my girls go again.. never'

A silence fell between them, a silence filled unspoken promises and love.

'Katiél?

'Yes, ada?' Kata looked up to him

'You did not tell how you and your sister got to be this injured..'

Kata had hoped he wouldn't ask, but how could she have expected him not to? She knew her ada would not rest before he knew the truth, but should she tell the truth? Knowing it would not change anything except cause more pain and hurt to those she loves..

Kata couldn't think of anything to tell him.. but she also knew he would see right through here in this state.. she could'nt lie to him, not now.. not now she just got back..

Besides they were really a mess.. anyone would see that it wasn't just due to falling from a tree or neglect.

'I.. It's a long story ada, and.. I find it hard to talk about it just yet.. And I don't know how.. I rather not talk about it just yet.. I do not think I cán talk about it..the memory and the pain.. it's.. it's too soon.. i'm sorry..'

Thranduil seemed to think about this for a while..

'Can I ask you just one question?' Thranduil started

'yes' she answered carefully.

'Whatever happened to you.. did it happen in Mirkwood?'

'No..'

'Do you think you will ever be able to talk about it?

'Some day perhaps.. just not.. today..' Kata whispered

'Then we will wait for that day' Thranduil whispered back and he kissed the top of her head again.

Another silence fell between them, but it wasn't awkward, it was peaceful and loving.. Thranduil understood..

Kata rested her head on Thranduils shoulder and closed her eyes. They sat like that for some time..

After a while Kata broke the silence 'I've changed ada.. I'm not that happy little elfling I once was.. too much has happened..' she whispered weakly. She was exhausted as well, and Thranduil could feel the energy slip away from her

Kata's shoulder still hurt badly and she suddenly felt very tired. She thought it was probably due to the wound on her head.  
She snuggled up closer to Thranduil and closed her eyes, allowing a healing sleep to take her away.

'I know iel-nîn, I know..' thranduil hushed 'I know'..

* * *

'Noo! Kata! Kata help me!' Callie cried out in her sleep.

'No! Please.. stop!' she whimpered

'Stooppp!' she awoke screaming, sitting right up in her bed..

She saw Kata sleeping in the bed next to her. Thranduil sat asleep in a chair by the window.

Her breathing was shallow and unstable and her body was shaking.

A part of her wanted to wake her big sister and seek comfort, but another part of her wanted to be big en brave and not disturb her sister just because she had had a bad dream.

And she definitely was not going to wake their father.

She felt safe around him and for some reason she really trusted him, but.. that was all she really knew. Kata had told her a lot about their family but still felt like she didn't feel like she really knew him.. What if she woke him up and he would think she was exaggerating..  
She didn't want to risk that. She was afraid to go to sleep again because of the nightmares, but she also did not want to wake her father of her sister so she decided to leave this room and have a look at the rest of the palace.

She felt a little dizzy and disoriented. She tried to silently leave the room but when she passed the table she hit her foot against it eliciting a loud 'Ah!'. She quickly covered her mouth, hoping she had not woken anyone and stumbled to the door, quickly opening it and leaving the room.

What she did not know is that her clumsiness woke up Thranduil. He awoke just in time to see her slip out. He glanced at Kata and saw that she was in a deep sleep with her eyes closed so he thought it would be okay to spend some time with his youngest daughter.

Thranduil did not want to stop her from going where she wanted to go. He decided he would follow her and see where her curiosity brought her. Thranduil was surprised she didn't feel or notice his presence, he didn't really put any effort in trying to hide. He thought it was probably due to the fact that she had suffered a severe blow to her head.

Callie stopped at multiple doors. Some she tried to open, some she just stared at and than resumed her path.

Thranduil had to hold back a chuckle.. she was just like her brothers and sister. All of them had been terrible curious elflings, and they still were. If Thranduil didn't pull in the reigns from time to time they'd stick their noses into everything that wasn't their business.

Callie finally stopped at a door that stood ajar. When she peeked in she saw thousands of books. Dark crimson walls covered with bookshelfs and across the rooms stood rows and rows of bookcases. Callie had always loved to read, or be read to. She just loved it, diving into a different world, reading about princes and princesses, heroes and dragons.. especially stories in which the character would go on an adventure and travel through the lands to stumble upon the most amazing things.

She had traveled a lot herself as well. With her sister they would travel from town to town, never staying anywhere longer than a day or two. Kata used to tell her that they were on an adventure as well and that they were the main characters.  
She used to say: 'someday people will read about us in a book, and they will say 'wow! I wish I could go on an adventure like that!''.

Callie just never really saw their life as an adventure and she was pretty sure Kata did not either.

Callie ventured into the room, amazed at the amount of books in there.

'Do you like books Caliél?' She heard a voice suddenly say behind her.

She swirled around to see it was Thranduil.

'I.. I am s.. sorry..' she muttered. At this Thranduil frowned.

'Sorry for what, iel-nîn?'

'ehm.. For coming here without asking?' she tried. She wasn't really sure if she had done something wrong but she had learned to better be safe than sorry.

'You have nothing to apologize for, my dear. There is no shame in having a love for books. I come here very often to clear my mind and to lose myself in the magic of the written word'.

'I love to read!' Callie told him cheerfully.

Thranduil laughed at her beaming from ear to ear.

'Do you now?! What do love to read?' he asked her smiling.

'I love to read books about heroes going on an adventure and I really like books about dragons as well..and books about history'

Thranduil narrowed his eyes 'Hm.. I think I know a book you would like to read'

He walked to one of the shelves on the wall, grabbing a book and dusting it off before turning around and showing it to Callie.

Callie eyes became larger as she saw the title of the book written in Gold. 'The fall of Gondolin' it said.

Thranduil smiled widely seeing her reaction.

It tells of princes, princesses, heroes and dragons and even a balrog!' his eyes widened to emphasize the last word.

'A balrog?' Callie frowned 'What is that?'

'They are evil demonic creatures only seeking to destroy and create chaos. They have similarities to dragons as you will all find out íf you wish to read it'

'Yes! Yes.. I..would love to!' she exclaimed making Thranduil laugh at her eagerness as her handed her the book.

'Wow.. thank you!' she said amazed at how heavy the book felt and how old it looked. 'It looks like it is really old' she whispered as she already felt enchanted by the book.

'It is.. it is actually thousands of years old'

Callie looked up at him, clearly shocked to hear that. She tried to say something but she seemed to find no words to say how amazing she thought it was.

Thranduil again laughed at her innocence. 'Come, would you like us to read from it now?' he asked. Secretly he hoped she would say yes. He would always come to the library with Kata when she was young and with her brothers before her, reading to them before bedtime. It was something he always looked forward to.. that one pure moment in which he could share the love for books with his children, in which he wasn't a warrior or the king of Mirkwood with responsibilities that were screaming for his attention.. no.. in that moment.. he was a just father reading to his child.

'Yes!..' she answered stunned as if he just asked a ridiculous question, but she soon regained her senses.  
'yes, I would really love that!' she answered, not knowing how happy she made Thranduil with that answer.

* * *

When Kata opened her eyes again it was dark and she no longer felt the presence of her father and Callie next to her. A feeling of panick came over her.. 'Was it all a dream?!..' But as soon as her eyes got adjusted to the dim light in the room she recognised her surroundings. A glance at the bed next to her told her they were really not in the room with her anymore.

Again the room was only lit by a few candles.

'It's dark again.. How long have I slept?' she wondered out loud. As she got out of bed she felt her shoulder being stiff and her head pounding but it didn't stop her from getting out the bed. It had been too long since she had been in the palace and she wondered if everything still looked the same as before. And ofcourse, she was curious as to where Callie and Thranduil were.

She walked through the long corridors of the palace, recognising the adjacent halls and the doors leading to the kitchens, the Royal quarters of her brothers and her parents, and various other spaces in the palace but she never felt the need to enter one of them.

She just let her feet guide her wherever they wanted to go.

And so it happened that she ended up in front of the library, when she was little one of her most favorite places in all of Mirkwood.

She used to go there with Thranduil before bedtime and he would read to her every night. Sometimes they kept reading until she fell asleep in Thranduil's arms and he would carry her to her chambers and tuck her in.

The door to the libraby stood slightly ajar and there was just enough space between the door and the wall for her to peek through.

And that is when she saw ánd heard Callie and Thranduil sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by dozens of books. Thranduil was apparently telling a very funny story because he had Callie all cracked up and he himself was roaring with laughter.

The scene created a huge smile on her face. Did she really see Callie laughing, like sincerely laughing?..

For 25 years Callie had to miss the warmth and love of their family and their kind. She never really had anyone next to Kata and Marellia. She had missed so much parental influence in her early childhood, and she lacked so much stability that Kata had always worried about how it would affect her when she got older..

Not to mention the horror she had to go through the last couple of months. Kata had been terrified her sister would be damaged for the rest of her life.. if they would even make it out of the cabin where it all happened, alive..

Seeing her with their ada like this gave her hope that it would not be too late to give her stability in her life and let her heart heal from all the hardships she had already had to deal with..

Living like they had, had been hard for the both of them but especially for Callie. Kata had often been able to draw strength from the memory of their family. There had been many times when Kata was at the brink of giving up, but it had always been the memory of home that had made her hold on. She knew her family wouldn't give up, so she couldn't either. At hard times like that and especially the last few months, she would think of something her mother used to say.. ''_When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.''_

Callie had never heard her mother say those words and she didn't know their family like Kata did. Kata had drawn their family to give Callie an idea of how they looked, but it wasn't the same as really knowing them.

Marellia had been like a mother to Callie, but Callie had still been too young to have vivid memories of her like Kata did.

By now Callie had calmed down and was listening intently to what Thranduil was reading to her. She looked like she tried her best not to fall asleep but she could not suppress a yawn, which made Thranduil raise an eyebrow in amusement.

'Am I really that boring penneth?' he asked amused, which made Callie giggle and blush..

'I didn't mean for you to see that' she anwered shyly while trying to cover up her face that was nearly turning crimson by now.

Thranduil smiled at her shyness and put the book away

'Well maybe, if your are thát tired I should..' he paused and Callie's face paled.

Thranduil just smirked

'Wake you up!' he exclaimed and lunged for her. He started tickling her till she screamed out 'ADA! ADA! NOO.. STOOPP!' she shrieked while Thranduil burst out in laughter.

Kata betrayed her position as she couldn't hold her laughter in which made both Callie and Thranduil look up surprised.

Callie tried to take advantage of the distraction by wriggling away from Thranduil's grip, but it was a waste of effort because he was way stronger than her.

'Kata! Please help meee!' Callie squealed which made Kata laugh even harder. She threw the door open and came to the rescue of her little sister. She just hadn't taken into account that their father was a cunning warrior with centuries of experience next to being their ada and the king of Mirkwood. It wasn't long before Kata as well lay at the mercy of their father. Both girls shrieking their lungs out and trying to turn the tides against their father.

As if by a miracle Kata managed to overpower Thranduil in one swift move by tackling him while Callie fought off his arms by lying on top of them. In the end Thranduil lay at the mercy of his daughters and they just couldn't stop roaring with laughter.

'My two little warriors!' he exclaimed proudly as he tried to sit up again. Callie blushed once again and attacked Thranduil with one of her bear-hugs.

**TBC..**

* * *

**hannon le - thank you**

**tithen pen/penneth - little one**

**ada - dad/daddy**

**The Fall of Gondolin is actually one of the Lost Tales Tolkien wrote. You can read it in the Book of Lost Tales :)**

* * *

** plllllease review! :D**


End file.
